Dalaran Cannon Fodder Mage Training Manual~

When he went to sleep that night, Ted looked at the number in his Experience Pool: 462!

Of that, 100 points had come from the reward for exploring Diagon Alley (Green).

Earlier that day, Floo Network Headquarters had finally opened.

He had pretended to be curious and gone in for a look, only to be promptly shown out.

Ted: You ignore me today, but tomorrow I'll be beyond your reach! Hmph!

But the quest was complete. That final 1% of exploration had finally been filled in.

This quest's reward included a random card.

When Ted claimed the reward, there were three cards for him to choose from.

The first card showed a Long Ears owl carrying an envelope in its beak.

Magic Postman: Red Horned Owl Jimmy (Green)

Summoning Card

Jimmy was a small owl messenger. Though it had difficulty delivering large parcels, it was extremely fast and excellent at delivering letters.

Uses: 1/1, permanent.

After this card was used, it would disappear, and Ted would gain a magical owl.

The second card depicted a magical book with a pitch-black cover, a blood-red title, and Black Smoke rising from it.

Seventeenth Century Black Magic Guide (Green)

Item Card

A magical tome recording the Dark Magic popular in the seventeenth century. Be careful not to let anyone know you possess it. Its author had a poor reputation.

The third card showed a firecracker exploding, unleashing a fat, fierce-looking wild boar. Lines beside it indicated that it charged especially fast and hard!

Wild Boar Firecracker (Green)

Item Card

A prank toy. Throw this firecracker to the ground and set it off, and it would conjure an illusory wild boar to chase people.

Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 hours.

In the end, Ted chose the Wild Boar Firecracker (Green). Though it could not hurt anyone, it could scare them.

And this card could be used repeatedly.

That Dark Magic book was actually pretty good too, but he did not want to take the risk.

He was about to start school. There was plenty of knowledge and magic waiting for him to learn, so there was no need to risk being discovered while studying Dark Magic.

The Hogwarts library had the most comprehensive collection of books in Great Britain's magical world. Why was he in such a hurry to study Dark Magic? Was Dumbledore dead or something?

He had to play it safe and not get carried away~ Seeing the 462 Experience Points in his Experience Pool, Ted felt completely at ease.

Tomorrow was not only the first day of school, but also the day Otherworldly Knowledge refreshed. With experience in hand, he had no pressure.

Sleep!

The moment Ted opened his eyes the next day, he noticed a system message:

"Ding~ Talent Otherworldly Knowledge (Gold) activated. Dalaran Beginner (Cannon Fodder Mage, crossed out) Combat Mage Training Manual (Green) discovered."

Dalaran Beginner (Cannon Fodder Mage, crossed out) Combat Mage Training Manual (Green), containing training materials for Dalaran mage apprentices. Exchange requires 310 Experience Points.

Ted froze for a moment. He knew Dalaran all too well. Were more than ten years of playing WoW a joke?

But what the hell was a cannon fodder mage?

Oh, so crossing it out and changing it to combat mage meant he would not recognize it? Even if you put on a disguise, I'd still recognize you! Still, Ted had no choice right now. At least this had something to do with magic. It was far better than chakra.

Exchange it!

310 Experience Points vanished, and a huge amount of knowledge appeared in his mind...

After carefully going through the information that had appeared in his mind, Ted more or less understood.

What was a beginner combat mage? A spellcaster who had mastered only a small number of low-level combat spells.

This was obviously a cannon fodder mage! Otherwise, real mages would never study only combat spells like Ice Arrow, Ice Ring, Fireball, and Arcane Missiles. Researching the mysteries of magic was the most important thing. Nor could they possibly lack spells that made daily life more convenient.

Judging by the knowledge and spells recorded in the beginner combat mage training manual in his mind, this was more like a magical technician sent to the front lines after two and a half years of training! Pure consumables, cogs on the war machine's assembly line!

They had never intended to train you into any kind of talent. They merely needed magical technical workers.

Fine. Something was better than nothing.

According to the training manual, there were sixteen spells to learn in total: Frost school: Ice Arrow, Frost Armor, Frost Nova.

Fire school: Flame Impact, Fireball, Flame Storm.

Arcane school: Arcane Brilliance, Arcane Missiles, Create Water, Create Food, Transfiguration, Slow Fall, Magic Suppression, Blink, Evocation, Teleport · Dalaran.

Three frost spells, three fire spells, and the remaining ten were arcane spells.

Following the training manual, by the time one "graduated," one would roughly reach the level of an Azeroth level 20 mage—just short of getting a taste of what it meant to be a real mage.

Sure enough, this was a beginner combat mage. It clearly was not meant to cultivate promising mage apprentices, but magical cannon fodder with just a little talent for Magic Power.

Only after learning Blizzard could one barely count as a real mage.

Only with Presence of Mind and Greater Pyroblast would one begin to take shape.

But it did not matter. Though it was designed for cannon fodder, these sixteen spells were crucial to Ted.

After all, this magical world had relatively few offensive and defensive spells. It could not compare with Azeroth, where there was a world-ending crisis every year.

Although this training manual was only Green-grade Otherworldly Knowledge, it was not much less helpful to him than the Mind Power Manual, which had only a few pages.

Especially those arcane spells—they had great value for study!...

Watching Ted pull his suitcase and say goodbye to him, Old Tom felt a little dazed.

It felt as though skinny little Ted asking about the cheapest room had happened only yesterday.

Two months had passed in a flash. Ted had finally put on some weight, and he had shot up quite a bit too.

Fortunately, the secondhand wizard robes he had bought back then were oversized. Otherwise, they probably would not fit anymore.

And now, he was going off to school.

Old Tom wondered if he had grown old. He had actually started feeling sentimental.

"Kid, study hard. Come back and visit when you have time," he said.

Ted waved to Old Tom, pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron, and stepped onto the street.

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station was packed with people. Some figures dressed in strange clothing were acting all mysterious.

Ted dragged a battered suitcase, carried a small leather case, wore secondhand wizard robes, had his wand on him, and kept a one-way train ticket in his pocket.

He found the third pillar between Platforms 9 and 10. Reaching out to touch it, he found that it was solid—it required a certain initial speed to pass through.

In other words, he had to run into it. Walking into it would not get him through.

The train departed at eleven in the morning sharp, and it was already 10:40.

Ted had left early enough, but the buses had not given him any face.

Luckily, he was not late.

He slammed headfirst into the pillar, and the scene before his eyes changed completely.

Adults and children in robes were everywhere. Owls hooted chaotically, while cats wove between people's feet.

This was Platform 9 3/4! Beside the platform stood an old-fashioned steam train in red and black.

The locomotive bore the number "5972"—if it had been "9527," that would have been an absolute killer!

This thing probably was not made by wizards. They could not make one, and they probably did not even understand the principles of a steam engine. It might have been something they had "requisitioned."

Once aboard the train, there was a corridor to the right and a row of small compartments to the left. The decor was extremely "retro," like something from decades ago.

Ted passed through several compartments before finally finding Hermione under Anzu's guidance.

"Here! Ted, over here!" Hermione called from the compartment door. Anzu was perched on her shoulder.

"I thought you were going to be late!" she complained.

Ted smiled. "I just underestimated the impact of the bus drivers' strike."

Ted entered the compartment and saw that, aside from Hermione, there were already two children inside—one was a shy, chubby boy who seemed quiet and reserved. He gave Ted an awkward nod and smile.

It was the sort of awkward yet polite smile. He looked like someone with serious social difficulties.

The other was smaller than children his age, with two particularly clever-looking eyes—especially compared to the chubby boy beside him.

On top of his head were two round, chestnut-colored mouse ears that matched his hair. He was actually a demi-human!

Ted had seen demi-humans twice in Diagon Alley over the past two months, but he had never spoken with one at close range.

He had not expected to see one on the freshmen's train. Uh, a member of the Mouse-Ear Race!

This was a huge change! There was actually a demi-human among this year's Little Wizards? That was a little unbelievable! Hermione excitedly introduced him to Ted. "This is Neville, Neville Longbottom. You know him, right?"

Ah! I know him, I know him all too well. How could I not know? Hermione: This is the monthly ticket. You know the monthly ticket, right?